Carriage-spring



(No Model.) I

' B; P. MORRISON.

GARRIAGE SPRING. N0. 291 ,-'761'. 'il ate'nted Jan. 8, 1884..

INVENTOR W S BY JAM ATTORNEYS- N. PEIERS. Plwmumn n hu, \Valhmglon. 11c.

ilnrrnn STATES ATENT met.

BENJAMIN PIERCE MORRISON, OF ABINGDON, ASSIGNOR- OF ONETHIRD TO LOOK 8:LINCOLN, OF MARION, VIRGINIA.

CARRIAGE-SPRING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,761, dated January8, 1854.

Application filed May 19,1353. (Xo modelo To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN P. MoRnIsoN, of Abingdon, in the county of\Vashington and State of Virginia, have invented anew and ImprovedOarriage-Spring, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to improve vehicles, as hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of referenceindicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of my improved spring appled to the side bars ofa wagon, and being inverted. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of Fig. 1 online m w, the parts being placed upright. Fig. 3 is a plan of thespring, with some modifications, and being inverted; and Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the double shackle by which the two sides of thespring are coupled together.

I arrange two rigid rods or bars, a, side by side, along the middleportion of the space between the side bars, I), and the end bars, 0, ofa side-bar wagon-frame or other frame to which the spring is to beapplied, placing said bars a a suitable distance apart, and connectingthem by any suitable or approved bearings or boxes, (I, with thecross-bars c, which may be parts of the bed of the wagon-body or otherobject or device to be supported by the spring, and for supporting thebody. From the bearings (Z the bars a are bent at right angles, formingarms or levers f, which extend downwardly and outwardly toward and belowthe side bars, b, with which they connect by means of theupwardly-eurved end portions, 9, and shackles h, the ends having an eye,through which they are fastened to said shackles by the bolts 1', saidshackles h being suitably clipped to the side bars.

The arms f 9 may be curved or otherwise shaped, as may be preferred.

If desired, the joint connecting the arms with the shackles h, or withrigid arms extending therefrom, may be located anywhere along the armsfrom the side bars to the elbows of the arms; or links jointed to theends of the arms and to the shackles k may be used.

The rigid bars a are provided at the middle or anywhere along betweenthe bearings cl, as V may be preferred, with stout cross-arms k, rigsidly attached to them and having one end extended outwardly under aflexible bar, I, and firmly clipped to it at m, the other end beingextended inwardly, or toward the center line of the body, over anotherflexible bar, a, and pivoted to the double shackle 0, with which theinner ends of both of said cross-arms are connected by suitable eyesformed on them, and a bolt, p, passing through both of said arms and allof the ears of the shackle, said shackle being located between themiddle bars, a, and secured to them by the staples or clips 8. Theflexible bars Z and a may be as long as the bars a, and be connected tothe body-bearing bars 0, as in Fig. 1; or they may be shorter and beconnected to other bars, a, as in Fig. 3. In the former arrangementadjusting-bars 11 may be connected to bars a alone or to n and Z, aspreferred, but extending across all of them, to be shifted along betweenthe center andthe ends of the flexible bars to alter their power, theconnection being made by clips 20, which will allow the bars to shift asrequired, and said clips may have set-screws to make them fast anywhere.It will be seen that as the stress is upward on the outer flexible bars,Z, and downward on the inner ones, a, only the latter need to beconnected to the bars 1;, but they may all be so connected, ifpreferred; and it will also be seen that the nearer the bars l? areplaced to the middle of the flexible bars the more rigid they will be,and they will be more elastic in proportion as the said bars o areshifted the other way. Thus the elastic range of the flexible bars isvariable, to adapt the spring for light or heavy loads at will.

The bars u which are to be secured to the wagon body or bed by theconnecting-plates it, may have provision for being shiftedalong v thebody or bed from place to place for vary ing the power of the flexiblebars Z a also, if desired. Bars 0 are also to be connected to the bedframe or body by plates 00.

The elastic barsln may be connected to the bars a or a by clips 1 orother approved means.

It will be seen that the effect of a load on either end ofsupporting-bars (1, having rigid arms and being connected asdescribed,.is to depress the body alike from end to end, and also thatby connecting the bars a and flexible bars together by the doubleshackle the effect of aload placed anywhere on them is to depress thewhole alike over the whole bed supported by them.

Animportant feature of this improved sprin g consists of its simplicity.It will be seen that, aside from the making of the shackles 0,which isnot diificult, the rest of the work is exceedingly simple, and may bedone by ordinary hands in any blacksmiths shop supplied with the simpleappliances usually to be found in such shops.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is 4 l. The combination of flexible bars Z nwith the supporting-bars a, having arms f, and being connected to thebed-frame e and side bars I),

' substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a carriage or other spring, of supporting-bars a,having arms f, and being connected to the side bars, I), and bed framec, elailtic bars Zn, arranged on the opposite sides of thesupporting-bars a, and

the CIOSS'ELIIDS k, rigidly connected to the supporting-bars a, and alsoconnected to elastic bars I a, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a carriage or other spring, of a pair ofsupporting-bars, at, having arms f, and being connected to the sidebars, I), and the bed 6, elastic bars Zn, arranged with each of saidsupporting-bars a, and cross-arms in, connecting said supporting-bars aand elastic bars Zn together, and said cross-arms being also connectedtogether by the double shackle 0, and thereby connecting the twosupportingbars and their elastic bars, and forming one compoundequalizing-spring, substantially as described.

4. The combination of adj usting-bars v with the supporting-bars a andelastic bars Zn, substantially as described.

The combination of the double shackle 0, crossarms k, and the elasticbars Z n and supporting-bars a, the said arms It being connected to saidshackle and said elastic bars, substantially as described.

BENJAMIN PIERCE MORRISON.

Vitnesses:

GEO. XV. RICHARDSON, JNo. R. SEXTON.

